Uribe

The list of injured Dodgers keeps growing, with Matt Kemp and Juan Uribe going on the disabled list Monday to join Jerry Hairston Jr. and Juan Rivera, among others. But the Dodgers' pitching staff, including Clayton Kershaw, their ace left-hander, largely has steered clear of injury, a key reason why the Dodgers have kept playing well early this season. Kershaw was stellar again Monday night in a duel with Arizona's Ian Kennedy, holding the Diamondbacks scoreless in seven innings of work as the Dodgers won, 3-1, at Dodger Stadium.

Jerry Hairston Jr. understands he's a role player, and he's embraced it. In 15 years in the major leagues, he's been a regular only once. The Dodgers signed him to be a utility player, and turning 37 later this month, it's not as if he's suddenly trying to reinvent himself. Trouble is, he's looking like someone the Dodgers need to play regularly. And particularly with Juan Uribe struggling, it might be hard to sit Hairston down. He's the only Dodger not named Matt Kemp who is hitting over .300 and is playing very good defense.

DENVER -- Juan Uribe could land on the disabled list with a wrist injury, Manager Don Mattingly said. “We should know a lot by tomorrow,” Mattingly said. The Dodgers have day off on Thursday before they start a three-game series in Chicago against the Cubs. Mattingly said he doesn't want to play short-handed for long. Uribe re-injured his left wrist in batting practice on Tuesday. A related injury cost him five games earlier this month. Uribe said his wrist felt worse on Tuesday than it did earlier this month.

They hit, they pitched, they played defense. They also ran the bases, but that's another matter. Mostly, though, the Dodgers opened their three-game series against a hot Atlanta Braves team on Monday by treating them just like all those struggling teams they'd been beating up on. The Dodgers used seven effective innings from Chris Capuano and some timely hitting from the bottom of the order -- including four...

MILWAUKEE -- Dodgers third baseman Juan Uribe has a sore left wrist and will miss Thursday's series finale against the Brewers at Miller Park. The injury was disclosed before the game by Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly, who said he first heard about it during the Dodgers' 3-2 loss to Milwaukee on Wednesday night. "They came to me like in the seventh inning and said Uribe can't swing -- he can play defense, though," Mattingly said, adding that Uribe said he might have injured the wrist sliding.

SAN DIEGO — If the first three games provided reasons why the Dodgers could make a run at the playoffs, their 8-4 defeat to the San Diego Padres on Sunday at Petco Park reintroduced the unsettling possibility that this season might be similar to last. Except for Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley, their rotation is showing signs that it could be a severe handicap. A day after Chris Capuano pitched only 42/3 innings against what is arguably the worst lineup in baseball, No. 4 starter Aaron Harang sent the Dodgers crashing to their first defeat by lasting a mere 41/3.

SAN DIEGO — Of the countless questions the Dodgers faced heading into spring training, the most important pertained to outfielder Andre Ethier. Specifically, would he recover from the knee injury that drained him of his power last season? The 18 spring-training games Ethier played in Arizona answered the question. "A month of running on it, swinging on it, staying on my legs, up to this point I haven't had an issue," Ethier said. He batted .396 with three home runs and 16 runs batted in. Of his 19 hits, 15 were for extra bases.

Reporting from Phoenix — As Clayton Kershaw walked by the pingpong table in the middle of the Dodgers' clubhouse Wednesday morning, Juan Uribe picked up a paddle and challenged him to a game. Kershaw accepted. As soon as Uribe was ahead by a couple of points, he set down his paddle, planted himself on a nearby chair and declared, "I win!" The nearby crowd of Spanish-speaking players roared with laughter. Kershaw smiled, shook his head and returned to his locker. Uribe is still smiling and still optimistic but still isn't hitting.

San Francisco Giants 8, Dodgers 4 AT THE PLATE: Andre Ethier hit his first home run of the spring. Juan Uribe, who batted .204 in his first season with the Dodgers last year, reached base in both of his plate appearances. Uribe singled to left in the second inning and drew a walk in the fourth. Leadoff hitter Dee Gordon demonstrated his speed in the first inning when he hit a grounder to first baseman Brett Pill but beat pitcher Barry Zito to first base for an infield hit. ON THE MOUND: Ted Lilly served up two towering home runs in the first inning, including one to leadoff hitter Melky Cabrera that went out of the ballpark.